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Thursday, December 8, 2016

A Time for Being Thankful

After raising the pullets, I was just so sad to have only 2 laying, I had wanted to have a good supply of eggs for the winter. I wanted to be able to share eggs and have plenty for our kitchen. I went to feed November 10th and Annabelle came out of the coop singing her song. I thought is she going to start laying again? About mid morning Mr. Bootsie comes in from the pasture lot and hands me Annabelle's pretty green egg. She laid today and she was so pleased. I hope she continues to lay and our egg count go up. I knew Annabelle laid a green egg because she was laying before I messed with the feed. Another hen has begun laying as I am finding a large green egg. I was so excited to collect a dozen eggs in 4 days. Maybe my girls did understand how sorry I was for changing their food.

I have been wanting to dehydrate potatoes, I really do not like having them sprout or rot in the pantry. This has been on my to-do list for a while. One rainy afternoon was spent preparing potatoes to dry. I found myself getting quite excited about having this new stable in the pantry. I thought about so many things I prepare using sliced potatoes, now all I will need to do is rehydrate the sliced potatoes and prepare my meal.

I think dehydrating the harvest must get into your soul. I have been busy doing apples and pumpkin. I am now finding myself looking for other items to process. I believe I am really beginning to understand the process and how to use these wonderful additions to my pantry.

With getting things ready to store, all of the heirloom corn was shelled and stored in jars. I think I have enough red dent for another project. We do not have a grain mill but I think we can work something out with several of the mills we have. So, Mr. Bootsie, there is a new project on your list.

There was not a frost on the farm until after a freeze. I kept reading and watching the weather, it was said there was not a frost warning for us because we had a killing frost in our area. I talked with some farmers who had experienced several frosts but the freeze was what took away our crops. I do not know if I have found a micro-climate or there are just so many trees around the garden. It was wonderful to have the garden growing until November .............We were harvesting peppers, eggplants and a few butter beans.

We shall be spending time over the next few weeks getting the garden ready for next spring. Tomato and pepper hills to dig and fill with manure, corn rows to be dug and filled, this year I am going to try and do much more soil improvement during the winter.

I am so Thankful for our little farm. for the knowledge I have and my ability to learn. This farm has been a gift to me and I cherish being able to spend my days working in the garden, walking in the woods, always on the search for something new. I always had been taught it was important to grow your food. I really had no idea what this meant until I returned to the farm and began to provide for my family. There is a joy when the food you eat comes from your gardens and pasture lot. I, also, am Thankful for the farmers who are in our area and support each other. I now have the extended family I remember from Momma and Daddy's farm. It is so amazing, they seem to appear when there is a problem and they have the knowledge to help.

I am very Thankful for those of you who take the time to read about out farm. I hope you found something you enjoyed, I believe many of you have much more knowledge than I do. I will never know the answers but I keep trying and our results are good. We are feeding ourselves from our farm and sharing with others. Yes, my quest has been reached and my dream is no longer the "Impossible Dream". I know the journey has had it's ups and downs but that is how you learn and with all of the hours I have spent learning I now can sit back, put my feet up and enjoy a time to be Thankful.